As a dog owner, you have probably asked yourself one or two times about the food your dog eats and whether or not you should switch to a homemade cuisine. If you haven’t already switched over, you may be wondering what the difference is between store bought pet food and homemade chow? Is one, indeed, better than the other? There are several advantages and disadvantages to both – all of which must be carefully considered prior to making any transition.
No Additives or Preservatives
One of the advantages to switching your furry friend over to a homemade dog food is that you control the ingredient list. While many companies are ridding their products of risky ingredients, additives and preservatives; there are still a number of items on the market that contain all of the above. Even some of the higher end brands that you pay a lot more money for, contain flavor enhancers and artificial colorings that could be detrimental to the long term health of your pet. With a homemade diet, you know what is going into each and every meal you serve your four-legged friend and can ensure that it is only the simplest, most nutritious ingredients possible.
Balance
One of the most difficult things about switching to a homemade dog diet is that you must maintain balance for your pet. Most store bought dog foods – while they may not contain the best ingredients – are usually designed to be well balanced. This means that each time you feed your animal bagged food, they are getting the right balance of nutrition that they need. This is not to say that you cannot achieve this by feeding them at home; but it is much more difficult to do so. Switching your dog over to a homemade diet requires much time, energy and commitment to understanding what your pet’s unique nutritional needs are and catering accordingly.
Cost Savings
Higher-end, better quality foods typically cost more. This is just the way the market works. If you want to feed your dog top of the line food with little to no additives, preservatives, colorings or crude protein, then you are going to be spending a good amount to do so. Switching your pet over to a homemade diet usually results in a fairly large cost savings. Depending on where you shop, and whether or not you capitalize on sale prices, you can spend far less on food than you would in a pet store.
